Research in Chile: A Combination of Passion, Experience, Work, Learning and Legacy

By Skyller WalkesDoctoral Student in Education – Adult, Professional, and Community

I was one of eighteen doctoral students selected to participate in international educational research in Chile, in cooperation with Universidad Alberto Hurtado and several Chilean community organizations. As a result, we had the opportunity to apply theory to practice in a place unfamiliar in both culture and geography, which was incredibly stimulating. Additionally, there was the exciting prospect of making connections that could resonate with the human experience through this unique and collective learning process!

In my experience, there tend to be three modes in which to engage academic learning- the cognitive, the didactic, and the pragmatic. For me, none of these proves to be as long-lasting as the sentient and experiential, and conducting educational research in Chile was a welcome opportunity to further that possibility. Though valuable, sometimes what we learn in our course work fails to be implemented in real world settings before leaving the classroom.

Being a 100K Strong-Gabriela Mistral Scholar under the tutelage of Dr. Michael O’Malley was an honor that allowed us to activate our knowledge in a unique space and place of simultaneous learning.

Experiencing this among peers with whom I’d had the pleasure of cultivating our shared interest through research design in the months prior to departure made for formidable efforts in preparation. Nevertheless, it was, undoubtedly, a worthwhile culmination.

Naturally, engaging individuals in a setting as both an active and passive observer insisted that I attempt to confront each interaction with a degree of sensitivity and openness, and by doing so, I learned just as much about myself as I did about the kind people who allowed me to experience their Chile. The community members with whom we partnered to develop collaborative relationships that we seek to continue in the future were integral to the cultural immersion learning experience. Even more, this experience broadened the skills essential to my desire to be a conscientious change agent in this world. Thus, Project LEARN-Chile will always be a transformative part of my learning here at Texas State University!